


Beasts

by Eyemtak



Category: Dying Light (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Divergence, Dubious Consent, Eventual Smut, F/M, I Like Big Bad Men OKAY, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Tension, Size Kink, Tension, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Voice Kink, What Have I Done, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-17
Updated: 2017-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-14 16:20:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,834
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9192347
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Eyemtak/pseuds/Eyemtak
Summary: Natalia was just another tourist in the wrong place at the wrong time, caught in the hellfire that was the aftermath of what they were calling the Harran virus. Unable to make it to the quarantine zones before they too were overrun with the infected, she was forced to find refuge where she could. Now, after finding solace at the Tower, she’ll do what she can to help herself and its inhabitants, even though it turns out to be more than what she bargained for.





	1. Not Just Another Run

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to all of those who are reading! This is my first fanfic that I'm actually going to post, so I hope you enjoy! There is canon divergence, my OC will mainly be assuming the role of Kyle Crane. Constructive criticism is welcomed and appreciated.

Natalia was perched at her usual spot on the crane atop the Tower overlooking the slums of Harran, as she found herself doing on most of her quiet evenings when she wasn’t out and about. It had only been a few months since the outbreak, and a little over a month for her as one of the Towers newest runners. Although they seemed reluctant to let a newcomer join the ranks so quickly, she had proven herself from the beginning; her first trip to the Tower had been with one of the DROPs and other supplies from one of the GRE airdrops. Completely astounded that she had taken the equipment before Rais’ men could even get to the drop, they deemed her skilled enough to join the rest of the runners.

Granted, she had gotten exceptionally lucky that evening. A harsh turn of events had left her scrambling for her life out of the motel she was holed up in with a couple other survivors. She had been able to get by for a little while in a couple of the upper-level rooms of small homes and shacks, at least for overnight purposes, but her own supplies were running on empty. Natalia was heading to the Tower just before sundown when the plane roared overhead, and not thirty seconds later bright orange and white parachutes carrying equally bright orange crates floated towards the rooftops immediately to her right. She only had to climb up one building, jump across a couple rooftops and there was the airdrop. Not actually knowing much about Rais then, she just grabbed the DROP and as much as she could carry and made a beeline for the Tower, figuring it would help her chances of getting their help in return. Since then she had learned a lot about Rais and the hell they found themselves in now, and there was a lot of work to be done.

Natalia stood, steeling herself against the breeze high up on the crane, her platinum blonde hair billowing around her face. The sun was getting low, it was time to group up and prepare for their next run. She jumped down onto the arm of the crane, easily running across to the Tower and making her way down to headquarters. Brecken was waiting there, along with three other guys she recognized. Tucker was a tall lanky guy with a somewhat tamed jewfro. Jack was shorter, though a little taller than herself; all five feet, four inches of her.

Then there was Dave, older than most of them, but damn if he couldn’t keep up with the best of them. He clasped a hand on her shoulder after she entered. “Nat, good to see you,” he offered a teeth-flashing smile, one she couldn’t help but return at the use of her nickname.

“You too. Ready for this run?”

“No doubt. I think we should try splitting up and going for both drops at the same time since we won’t know which one has the Antizin.”

So, that’s why he brought Tucker and Jack. “Sounds good to me. Should we get going?”

Dave gave a curt nod and they all left the headquarters and headed down to the ground floor. Before they even left the front entrance, they heard the plane approaching. There was a sense of urgency that settled over them. “Ok,” Dave said, turning to face her, “you take Tucker, run straight for the second drop, you both will be the fastest. Be careful. If Rais’ guys manage to beat you to it, don’t engage.” He paused before adding. “Unless you think you have the upper hand.” He looked to Natalia carefully, almost like he knew what she was thinking.

“Be safe,” she offered in return before nudging Tucker. “Let’s go.”

As the plane came into view they took off in the direction it looked like it was heading, making minor directional changes as they went. It was easy enough to travel by rooftop, watching as the plane traveled mostly over the path of the highway. The first drop fell, parachutes opening and carrying its contents slowly to the earth. They kept running, Natalia giving just a bit more as they saw the second crate leave the hatch.

“There! It’s not far!” Tucker called.

Natalia was about to give a triumphant ‘yes’ at just how close it was when she saw a third crate being pushed off the cargo hatch. “Holy shi-, a third crate?”

“Yea, maybe that’ll keep Rais’ goons off our ass,” Tucker sneered as they got closer to the second drop.

Hell no, that means more for them. “No, I’ll go, they don’t deserve any of this.”

“What? No way, it’d be too dangerous by yourself!”

“We already have the jump on them, I’ll be there and meet you back here before you know it.” She didn’t have time to notice the apprehensive look on his face, she was already jumping to the next roof while Tucker cut to the left.

“Be safe, and be quick!” he called out to her lastly.         

But she was already too far away to call back, making her way to the last of the buildings before having to jump to the ground, catching herself in a roll and then vaulting upright and taking off again. It wasn’t a far run to the small cluster of buildings down by the water where the red smoke of the airdrop was relentlessly swelling into the sky. Natalia made it back onto the rooftops of the shacks around the airdrop to check the surroundings. There was a safe house that still needed to be cleared, some infected squabbling about, and the airdrop had landed on the middle landing of a stone walkway that curved along the sides of the buildings. With a satisfied nod, Natalia jumped down to the crate and made quick work of the latches. Lifting the top revealed some flares and med-kits. It wasn’t Antizin, but it was needed. Voices to the left of the building had her quietly closing the top. Rais’ thugs, they were quick. She would have to take care of them first before loading up the goods.

Quickly latching the top, she used the crate to help her up to the roof again. She peeked over the edge to see just two guys, donning their black gear with three diagonal yellow stripes across the chest piece. Two against one wasn’t her _worst_ odds, just might take an extra minute or two to get back to Tucker. Going by the lowering sun, she would have to make it quick. Peeking over the ledge again, she saw their backs were turned to the alley on the right of the building, she’d have to use that to her advantage. Using the windowsills, she lowered her way back down to the ground silently, slowly unsheathing the machete from her right hip.

She readied it with a quick twirl of her wrist, coming around the corner to see their backs still turned to her when there was a sharp, blunt pain to her left kidney that dropped her to her knees with a cry, drawing the attention of her original targets. “Well, what do we have here?” a gruff voice asked from behind her before a swift kick to her ribs sent her sprawled out on her side with a strangled gasp, her machete clutched desperately in on hand as she held her side with the other. The voice hovered above her now, as if the person was crouched over her. “Another _runner_ trying to steal our supplies?” he spat, and without thinking Natalia rolled onto her back and swung her arm back with the machete, trying to catch him by surprise. But he was quick, his hand was like a vice grip on her wrist and with the slightest twist her machete clattered to the ground and his other hand was around her throat. She got a good look at his face now, her blue eyes meeting his brown. He didn’t wear a mask like the rest of Rais’ men did. “That wasn’t very smart, girl.”

Natalia struggled to breathe, and what little air she managed to inhale burned her lungs as the corners of her vision blurred. She managed to look to the left slightly to see the other two men standing there, one’s arms crossed over his chest, watching, while the other went back to inspecting the contents of the crate. She looked back up to the man constricting her airway, silent gasps now leaving her open mouth as he stared at her for another second before suddenly letting go. Natalia’s throat burned as she inhaled a deep breath, filling her lungs completely before the burning became too much and her coughing fit began. She barely had a moment to recover however before a solid fist met with her jaw, causing her head to snap back and smack against the pavement. Her vision blurred completely to the point of blackness. Just before giving in to unconsciousness, she thought she’d heard someone say they’d radio Rais.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A pretty short first chapter, I'm just trying to get a feel for posting things to Ao3. I just bought this game within the last month or so and I'm kind of obsessed with it, and also a certain character that there isn't even much interaction with ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ I'll be in my sin-bin.


	2. A Beast In The Shape Of A Man

Natalia slowly came to, making an effort to keep her eyes closed as she did. The first thing she noticed was the dull throbbing pain in her wrists, becoming more prominent with each passing second, and her shoulders ached from being stretched over her head for a long period. Yup, she was hanging by her wrists and her feet weren’t touching the ground. Perfect. After waiting and not having heard any sounds for a few minutes she slowly cracked her eyes open, trying to keep her gaze fixed on the ground that her feet dangled a few inches above. The sound of a metal chair scraping against concrete alerted her, but before she could look up or close her eyes again or do _anything,_ a hard jab landed straight on her stomach, her eyes widened as she gasped and coughed.

“Fuck me,” she groaned quietly as the pain slowly subsided, and she chanced a glance upward.

It was the same guy that snuck up behind her with the kidney shot, that almost choked the life out of her and then knocked her out. “That was for trying to take my head off earlier.” He sounded pretty irritated, his accented voice coming out like a low growl.

“I thought that’s what you were strangling me for…” Natalia final rasped after a pause.

He let out a _hmph_ as he sat back down in the chair at the edge of the room in front of her. It was then that she picked her head up to look around. It was a small room, boarded up windows and all with just a hatch in the ceiling. Slits between the boards showed it was dark now, so she couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the supplies, along with the other two thugs. She tried to gauge the situation, not sure if she should even speak up, especially since she had a bad habit of letting words fall out of her mouth when she was anxious. Then she heard his radio crackle before a voice spoke up. “Supplies have been dropped to the Garrison. We’re on our way back.”

He picked up the radio. “No, come back at dawn. The location is secured enough.”

“But Tahir-”

“Tell Rais I’m taking care of a problem,” he interrupted their protest, his stern tone finalizing the conversation.

Crap. She was the problem. But the name…

_Tahir_

Natalia’s eyes widened slightly with realization. One of the survivors from the Tower came to mind immediately, the stories he told. There was one person that he warned about in particular along with Rais .

“A beast in the shape of a man…” she mumbled.

He got up again, stepping more slowly to stand in front of her. “What was that?” 

She didn’t want to, but the way he loomed there made her grow anxious, so she tiled her head up to look at him. Even inches off the ground, her eyes were only on level with his bearded chin. “Think you could let me down now? My shoulders are killing me.”

Maybe not the best expression considering her current situation, but a smirk actually broke through his seemingly permanent scowl. “No.”

He turned his back to her again to return to his chair, a groan escaping her throat. “Why didn’t you just kill me then, or leave me like this outside? _Problem_ would be taken care of.”

Tahir watched her, amused, from his chair against the wall. “Because, where’s the fun in that?” He propped his feet up on a table and crossed his arms over his chest, and she wanted nothing more than to punch the smug look off his face.

She couldn’t imagine why he was holding her, but she didn’t sense she was in any immediate danger. No immediate danger meant she could keep trying, right? “Or, you could just let me go. You got all the supplies, and I’ll be on my way. I don’t have the best chances in the dark anyway right?”

“Or you could shut up,” he retorted, raising an eyebrow at her.

Natalia let out a sigh, letting her head drop forward. She wasn’t getting anywhere. Tahir moved his chair to the center of the table now, his back to her as he faced the wall, leaned on his elbows over something on the table and leaving her to her thoughts. Hopefully the guys made it back to the Tower with their DROPs, and since her crate didn’t have the Antizin, one of them had to have it. Dave would be up and about though, not able to rest without her safe return. That’s just how he was, she learned. He looked out for everyone, and if someone wasn’t counted for at the end of a run he felt it was his responsibility to find them. God, she hoped he wasn’t out there looking for her now.

A volatile’s scream too close for comfort caused her to jerk her head up, checking the integrity of the boarded-up windows around the room. “I’m sure if you let me out now he would get the job done just fine.”

Tahir grunted in response without turning to her.

“Anything’s better than awaiting the slow death in here…” she mumbled, still watching the windows.

He turned to watch her again. “You still think I’m going to kill you?” He almost sounded annoyed as he stood.

Whether it was an intimidation factor or not she wasn’t sure, but she swallowed slowly. He really was a brute of a man, and it was a lot easier to believe Ibrahim’s story from the Tower. Five-on-one odds didn’t seem like it would trouble him. “More so trying to figure out why you haven’t already. Or why you didn’t.”  

 His large hand was suddenly at her neck again, but instead of around her throat his fingers squeezed at her jaw, causing it to gape slightly. Natalia silently stared up at him, his glare boring into her. “It would have been too easy.”

So, he liked the thrill of the chase, or a fight. She continued to stare back at him silently, mostly because she couldn’t speak due to his grip, but she also wasn’t sure her voice wouldn’t falter.

"Now, will you stay quiet?” He tilted her head slightly to one side, “or maybe I should just knock you out again instead, or I could break your jaw…” he mused, his voice low and gravelly, until a sinister grin played at his lips, “or I could just shove my cock down your throat. Wouldn’t be able to say much then, would you?” he added casually.

 _Oh, fuck…_ her mind raced as she tried to jerk her head away from his grip in a panic, but that only cause a deep rumble to come from his chest. _The fucker was laughing._

But he shoved her face to the side, letting her go. “Now maybe you’ll shut the fuck up.” He said, once again going back to his chair

She really had to get out of there, and she started to wonder if he slept outside the safety of Rais’ Garrison. That might be the only window of time she had to try to get free. Tahir was sitting with his back to her again, resting on his elbows and leaning over the table at the far wall in front of her. Whatever he was studying seemed to hold his attention enough, so Natalia scanned the room frantically. Her back was about two feet from the wall behind her, the rope that bound her wrists ran up and around what looked like a four-inch pipe in the ceiling. Tahir had to have tested them to chance hanging her from them, though they still didn’t look the most stable. There were three heavily boarded up windows, one on each wall, and to the right, against the wall that didn’t have a window she noticed a bookshelf pushed up against what looked like a boarded-up doorway, probably leading to another room of the shack or apartment or whatever they were in. Unless he carried her a significant distance unconscious, they were probably still in the small cluster of buildings where the airdrop landed. She just hoped the hatch led to the roof.

Ok, so that would have to be her way out, given that it wasn’t locked. Easy enough. She would just have to wait for him to fall asleep. Which, he would have to at some point. Right?

She stared at the back of his head for what seemed like an hour, maybe two, and amazingly he gave no indication of even being alive. She couldn’t hear his breathing, never even saw his head move, or a muscle twitch. Natalia continued to watch him, but it was like watching grass grow, and she could feel her own eyelids getting heavy, the run from that evening catching up to her. She closed her eyes momentarily, reopening them to watch Tahir. No movement. She closed her eyes for a moment longer, and then waited before opening them again. Still no sign of movement. She kept this up, hoping it would keep her awake, but after a while her eyes stayed closed for a couple seconds longer than the last, and her head lolled forward every now and then, starling her awake and upright, but to no avail. Natalia closed her eyes again, this time keeping them closed and just listening, but faint images danced behind her eyelids, like she was daydreaming. But the faint dreams beckoned her closer, deeper. She could feel her head loll forward one last time, but she didn’t care.

She let the dreams take over until she was back in the motel she holed up in with several other survivors before the Tower. They were screaming, and she was running. When she got to one of the hallways the screaming stopped, and so did she. All the doors were closed in this hallway, but she could hear the faint sound of a child crying. Checking each of the rooms to find them empty, she finally got to the one the cries were coming from, finding a grayish, ghoulish child huddled in the center of the room over a mutilated corpse. It wailed as soon as it saw her and suddenly the screams returned all at once, sounding so close to her ear she thought she could feel the heated breaths on the side of her face.

Natalia awoke and jerked her head upright, her breath hitched in her throat. She held it for a moment until she got her bearings and realized where she was. She wasn’t sure how much time had passed, and her surroundings didn’t give much away. But Tahir, he was still at the desk, leaned over on his elbows. He hadn’t seemed to have moved at all, except she noticed his head was drooped a little more forward, and if she listened close enough, she could hear him taking deep, steady breaths. He had to be asleep. It wasn’t solid evidence, but she had to go for it.

Deciding to chance it, Natalia reached a leg back until she could feel the wall and then pushed off it slightly. Able to use her body weight now, she kept herself swaying gently at first. Might as well start with the pipe, but she needed to know what she was working with. She watched the pipe as she swayed; no groans or creaks, but the occasional shudder when she hit the bottom of her sway. It was possible, but she would need to do more than swing. Letting herself settle again, she looked up to her binds. It was a simple wrap and cinch bind, but one that wouldn’t give her the freedom to climb the rope, and even if she managed to get free, hopefully she could get it off in time. She would have to be quick, she could imagine he would be once he knew what she was doing. 

Getting a grip on the rope with both hands, she mustered the strength to swinging her knees upward, pulling herself up at the same time, using the momentum to lift her weight from the rope before gravity pulled her down again, the tension straining the rope and in turn causing the pipe to creak and shudder. Natalia winced at the noise as she peeked over to Tahir, who thankfully was still breathing deeply, head slouched forward. She decided to give it another try, grabbing onto the rope with both hands, but this time she attempted to slide her hands up further to climb higher, able to get at least a good six inches higher. She took a couple of deep breaths, bracing herself before she forced herself to swing her knees higher this time, using all the strength she could to pull herself upward, and when her momentum stopped her midair for just a split second, she let go of the rope. As she fell back down to the end of the rope, she jerked her arms down for good measure, and was rewarded with the sound of the pipe creaking, and then a sudden groan as she felt a shift. Natalia looked up with a triumphant smile at the separated section of pipe, bent slightly downward and to the side from the other section it was connected to.

The smile, however, didn’t last long. She couldn’t hear Tahir’s breaths anymore. Looking down at him, she could see his head was slightly inclined again, no more than his original position, but this time it was turned to the right just a smidge. It was enough to notice he was listening to her now. She held her breath, not sure what he heard. Surely it was the pipe bending that woke him up, but he probably wasn’t even sure, thinking maybe it was something from outside. They both stayed quiet, and Natalia chanced a look up at the pipe. She could get free if the loop of the rope would slide forward, it was only a couple inches from the separation. She tried to pull herself up on the rope, hoping the tension would cause it to slide forward a little. It did, and it took everything she had not to squeal with delight. She tried again, but this time the pipe creaked awfully, and she heard Tahir scoot back in the chair.

Her heart was in her throat, but she couldn’t bear to look away from the pipe keeping her from freedom. And she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t freeze up if she saw him coming at her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do. In a last-ditch effort, she swung her knees up and pulled herself up, and when she came back down on the rope she pulled with everything she had. A pain shot up through her ankles from the unexpected landing, causing her to fall back on her ass and the pipe to come clattering to the ground next to her. She didn’t have time to be stunned, Tahir was almost in front of her with a menacing expression on his face. Natalia dodged his attempt to grab her; rolling to the side and rolling over the pipe, she grabbed it and bounced to her feet. As Tahir turned in her direction, the pipe met with the side of his head, causing him to stagger back with a grunt. She quickly loosened the cinch between her ties, which let her slip her wrists out of the rope. She used the pipe to hit the handle of the hatch above her and push it open. A dark sky greeted her, but before she could jump up to the ledge a boot to her chest sent her flying back towards the wall.

“I’m afraid I can’t let you leave. Rais’ orders,” Tahir spoke low, standing directly under the hatch.

So, it was Rais that wanted her alive? She looked up to the opening in the ceiling that was her gateway to freedom; it was now or never. Natalia charged at him; there wasn’t nearly as much room as there was outside, and Tahir was exceptionally larger than most of the infected she’s been able to jump over, but she only needed leverage. Landing her foot on the top of his thigh, she pushed off of him and sent herself halfway up the hatch, her arms splayed out on the roof to grant herself any kind of purchase. Before she could pull herself out he grabbed one of her ankles, but a panicked kick to his jaw sent him reeling back. Able to lift herself the rest of the way out, she rolled onto her back on the roof of the shack, taking a breath as she stared up at the starry sky. No lights in the city meant she could see almost every star.

The surrealness of the moment caught her off guard, but Tahir’s almost animalistic growl as he jumped up to the ledge of the hatch brought her back to the present, and she rolled to the edge of the roof, jumping up to her feet and then to the next rooftop. It was pitch black and her eyes hadn’t adjusted to the darkness, but she had to keep running. The sound of heavy footsteps behind her only emphasized that.

Running out of rooftop, she dropped to the ground with a roll and kept going, backtracking her path from earlier that evening. She wasn’t sure if the sounds she heard behind her now belonged to Tahir or the countless virals and volatiles surrounding her, but she couldn’t spare a second to check. A particularly close volatile scream sent chills down her spine, and she could swear she felt its breath on the back of her neck as she ran. Running so blindly, she almost missed the concrete steps that led up to the front of the Tower. Quickly cutting to the left, she fished a kind of remote from her pocket and pressed the button on the front before jumping through the doorway, activating the fence trap that sat directly at the threshold and ensnaring the volatile that had been on her ass in an electrifying trap. Natalia rolled onto her back and watched as it got fried close to death before stumbling out of the trap, and with a half-hearted screech, stagger back off into darkness. She huffed as she let herself fall back and close her eyes, her chest heaving as she tried to calm herself, the voices of the guards just above her ensuring that she was safe, for now. 


	3. Close Encounters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tried to beef up this chapter a little since it's been a while, this semesters been a doozey!

Natalia didn’t even have the chance to get up when Dave jumped down from the entrance to the second floor and came around the corner. “Nat!” he ran to her side and, grabbing under her arms, lifted her to stand in front of him and began inspecting her. “What happened to you? Are you alright? You haven’t been bitten, have you?”

“I’m fine, Dave. Really,” she insisted as he circled her. Her gaze shifted from him to just over his shoulder, outside the doorway, the feeling of Tahir behind her never having left her senses. 

“Then where the hell have you been?” He was fuming, and she felt herself shrink under his glare. “What the hell were you so caught up in that you left Tucker to haul back the airdrop by himself, only to return in the middle of the damn night?”

Well, at least it sounded like they were successful with the other drops. But it didn’t sound like Tucker had mentioned the third. “There was a third airdrop, and I got greedy. I didn’t want Rais’ men to get any of them, I’m sorry.”

His expression seemed to soften. “Well, you came back empty handed, so I’m assuming they got that one.”

“One of them got the jump on me… I thought there were only two.” She couldn’t look at him anymore; leave it to Dave to make her feel like a child being scolded. 

Dave let out a sigh before clasping a hand on her shoulder. “Well, you came back in one piece, that’s what matters. Come on, I know you could use some sleep, you look like shit.”

That made her crack a smile, and Dave chuckled as they made their way up to the upper-level apartments. She parted ways with him on the nineteenth floor, making her way down the empty hall to her personal room. Definitely a perk of being one of the few female runners; privacy. Once inside she closed the door behind her with an exhausted sigh, dragging her feet to her bedroom where she kicked off her shoes and unceremoniously sprawled out on the bed. The events of that night played over and over behind her eyelids until it all blended together, and the last thing she saw before drifting off to sleep was Tahir’s face in hers as he held her jaw. 

 

The next week had passed somewhat normally; Natalia went on at least one airdrop run a day, successfully making it to most before Rais’ bandits. They had continued with Dave’s strategy since it was working fairly well, but he made a point to run with her since the incident. He kept her in check, making sure she didn’t engage any of the guys unless he thought it was smart. However, they only managed to score one of the Antizin crates that week, and their stock was running dangerously low again, so they were really counting on the drops today.

This was one of the few mornings Natalia awoke peacefully, her eyelids slipping open to scan her room. The afternoon sun filtered brightly through her window, and though she was grateful for not being disturbed, she was actually waiting for a wake-up call. Courtesy of Dave, probably. The run she went on last night turned into a late one, but they scored some major medical supplies. Brecken’s team wasn’t so lucky though, and he came back pretty beat up and empty handed. She’d made the decision to try to go for both drops today, hopeful increasing their numbers would increase their chances of getting the Antizin. If they had more people with them, even if Rais’ men got there first, maybe they could overpower them. 

She sat up slowly and swung her legs to hang over the side of the bed, pausing to rub the sleep from her eyes before standing to stretch. The first drop usually came around noon, so she grabbed a halva bar on her way out and made her way to headquarters. There were already more than the usual number of people gathered inside around a bandaged-up Brecken with Jade at his side, a map of the slums laid out on the table in front of him. He nodded to her as she fell in line next to Dave, catching up on his debriefing. 

“You were supposed to wake me up for this,” she whispered to him.

“You needed to sleep, you don’t need to go on both runs, we need you alert for the evening drop,” he replied, hushed. 

Natalia replied with a hum before tuning back in to Brecken’s voice. He was explaining that there would be four groups of two going out for each drop; they would be staggered around the slums to cover the most ground. Two groups would be assigned to the first crate, and two to the second. Hopefully this way, one of the groups should be able to make it to their crates relatively fast, the second group not far behind if backup is needed. It’s too bad there weren’t enough runners to do this regularly, this would be a surefire way to beat Rais’ men to the punch, but they were using all their manpower for today which is why she knew she had to be there.

They grouped up quickly, Dave with her as per usual lately, and all headed to the bottom floor. They were assigned the first crate along with Tucker and another guy named Jesse, so her and Dave got a head start to one of the safe houses north-west of the overpass. They were able to stick to the rooftops, avoiding any biters for the most part, save for the occasional lone-wanderer lingering on a balcony. They were easy enough to dispose of however, it only took a well-placed kick to send them to the sidewalks below. Once at they reached the train yard they used the train cars to reach the roof of the warehouses, the infected below groaning and reaching hopelessly at their shadows as they passed overhead, but Natalia tried not to look down too often. 

They caught their breath as they walked the rooftop, the safe house not far in the distance when Dave spoke up. “I really hope this works today, Brecken’s in a really bad place. Jade said he wanted to go for the next Antizin drop alone.”

She pictured the bandaged-up Brecken in the headquarters earlier. “He didn’t look too good.”

“Lena says it’s worse than he’s putting off, but he wanted to lead the runs today.”

Natalia winced slightly, “No, that definitely wouldn’t have been a good idea.”

Dave nodded, and before they could jump from the rooftop to run the rest of the way to the safe house, the low hum of the airplane’s engines could be heard. They both turned to see it approaching, giving each other a knowing glance before backtracking to the other end of the roof. Watching as the plane slowly tilted, they took off towards it until its turn evened out, then they adjusted until they were running parallel to it. The first crate fell out of the hatch and the parachute opened, carrying it away from them.

“It’ll be closer to Tucker and Jesse!” Dave called back to her, and she picked up the pace. Tucker and Jesse were back on the other side of the overpass, closer to the Tower. 

The second crate dropped out of the plane, and Natalia watched as the plane increased altitude, thankful there wasn’t a surprise third crate to screw up their odds. She just really hoped their crate had the Antizin; it was the closest to the Tower and it would be the score they needed.

They came up under the underpass without seeing the chute, but the red smoke was starting to billow up from between buildings. “There!” Natalia pointed out and took off in front of Dave.

He said something behind her but she didn’t hear, adrenaline making her heart pound in her ears. Hopefully Tucker and Jesse were already packing up the cases and waiting for them to head out. But as she drew closer, it didn’t sound like that was the case. She stopped a couple of rooftops away, overlooking the airdrop in a little courtyard between a group of buildings. Thankfully not too many biters lingered about, but they weren’t the problem. Tucker and Jesse were surrounded by three bandits, each taking turns swinging their machetes and pipes trying to catch them off guard. 

“Come on Dave,” Natalia called in a hushed tone but he grabbed her arm. “What ar-”

“Nat, we don’t know if that’s the Antizin, we could just draw the bandits’ attention to give Tucker and Jesse time to get outta there.” He pleaded with his eyes, but she wasn’t giving in.

“And what if it _is_? We desperately need it, and there’s only three of them. If we get down there we could overpower them easily,” she hissed, jerking her arm from his grip.

He stared at her for a moment more than she would have liked, but then he sighed. “You’re more of a fighter than a runner.”

She smirked, “Once I get down there, go to the crates. If it’s not the Antizin we’ll make a break for the next drop together.” Then she was jumping to the next rooftop, bringing her right on top of the group. 

She wasn’t sure if she could signal Tucker or Jesse without being seen by the bandits too, so she just wished for the best. It was only a two-story shack, so jumping from the roof directly onto one of the safer-than-a-machete pipe wielding bandits wasn’t as bad as it could have been. He went down quick, his knees buckling under the unexpected weight, his yelp cut short when his skull smacked the concrete. Natalia landed a little more gracefully than she expected, landing on the back of the bandit on her knees, transferring her momentum forward into a roll before bouncing up on her feet, machete at the ready, facing the two other bandits who had paused mid-swing at Tucker and Jesse. 

“Hey boys,” she offered before swiping her machete across the closer bandit’s side, causing him to howl in pain as he staggered back.

“You bitch!” the other yelled as he abandoned his attack on Tucker and charged at her. 

The shock left everyone’s system and it was back to the fight. Tucker jumped in to help Natalia with her new attacker while Jesse took care of the already injured one. Chancing a look over to the crates, she saw Dave as he lifted the lid, his face lighting up with relief and absolute happiness. 

That was all she needed. “Get the cases strapped together and get them out of here. Jesse, do everything you can to protect him!”

Dave unwrapped the cam strap from his pack and got to work, Jesse going over to help, while the last bandit fought for his life against Tucker. When he was taken care of, it was just a few biters left that had straggled in towards the commotion. Natalia managed to cut the head clean off one, then proceeded to kick another into one of the flaming barrels with rebar sticking out from every angle. Tucker was wrestling another one, repeatedly smacking it in the head with his reinforced aluminum bat, when more commotion from one of the alleyways caught Natalia’s attention. 

Tahir stepped around the corner, machete in hand and tailed by four more of Rais’ men, and it felt as though her stomach fell into the deepest of pits. Quickly looking over her shoulder she saw Dave, the fastened Antizin cases strapped awkwardly over his shoulder, and Jesse had both noticed their new company. Nothing needed to be said; they both took off in the opposite direction, and though awkward as the cases looked to carry, Dave still made it up the side of a building with his record speed, Jesse right behind him. She knew they would have to make a wide arc around to the Tower, and that meant she needed to keep Rais’ thugs busy. 

“You three, go!” Tahir’s voice boomed. He looked to the far three guys, and they took off without question. 

Two of them went to run wide past her and Tucker, but Natalia quickly grabbed one of her throwing knives and threw it at the one closest to her, Tucker followed suit with the other one. Tucker’s throwing star was a bulls-eye, hitting the guy right in the back of the head, and hers had lodged itself into the others shoulder blade. He staggered behind the wall of one of the buildings, but he wouldn’t be able to keep up with Dave and Jesse. The third guy flanked and disappeared over the rooftops before either of them had the chance to turn around. They should be able to handle him. 

She heard the groan that came from Tahir, but when she finally looked at him again he almost looked amused. “I was starting to wonder if the volatiles actually did get to you before I could.”

Yea, so she’d been careful about which drops she went to in the past week. She managed to avoid him at all costs, afraid he might not let that kick to the jaw go so easily. He seemed to be taking it well. But before she could reply with her usual snark, the last bandit was charging at Tucker, and then Tahir was charging at her.

The sounds of machetes clashing and exchanged grunts filled the courtyard, and Natalia was barely avoiding Tahir’s fierce swings as he continued to push her back. He was taking the upper hand quickly, and if this continued much longer he’d have her cornered. When he swung at her again she strafed to the side, using her free hand to wield one of her throwing knives and swiping it towards his face. He staggered back a step and Natalia used it to her advantage. She slashed at him with her machete, causing him to back up another step, and before he could compose himself she landed a dropkick to his stomach. They both fell to the ground, but she was quicker to get up and over to him while he was still on his back, her machete ready to come down on him. She didn’t count on his boot meeting with her stomach in return, though his had much more force behind it. It sent her airborne, her machete flying out of her hand, and she landed on her back with a gasp as the wind was knocked out of her. She barely had time to recover before Tahir was on top of her, between her legs, his machete ready to cut through her sternum. Natalia’s hands went right for his wrists, using all the strength she had to halt the point of the blade. Her breaths left her as a hiss through clenched teeth, her arms beginning to shake, and she wasn’t sure she was going to make it out of this one until her eyes met his. 

That menacing look was back, and he was sneering. “What, that’s all you’ve got?” His accented voice was low and that chuckle rumbled in his chest again. 

This guy was insane. 

She ground her teeth, a snarl ripping through her throat as she pushed back, granting herself enough room for her to be able to bring her knees back towards her chest, her feet finding purchase against his sides as she kicked him away. She actually knocked him off her, and her surprise alone almost made her miss her chance. 

“Tucker, run!” she yelled as she rolled away from Tahir, his machete striking the ground where her head had just been. She ran to the nearest building, nearly stumbling as she grabbed her machete off the ground mid-sprint, and jumped for the highest windowsill she could reach to pull herself up. Tucker had been kept busy by the other bandit but he was able to get away and up another building, following her path.

Using the windowsills, Natalia made it to the rooftops, glancing behind her to see Tahir hadn’t followed her up but instead was following her path from the streets, and she couldn’t help but feel a little relieved. Apparently big men weren’t very agile. She could barely see Dave and Jesse still on the rooftops off to the east, so she made a break in that direction to assist, Tucker following suit. Jesse had the cases now, probably to help throw the bandits off course, but as she drew closer he looked to her with desperation. She could see now that he had two bandits tailing him, and Dave had jumped down to the streets. Looking down to the streets below her she couldn’t see Tahir, so she motioned for Jesse to toss her the cases as Tucker jumped down to assist Dave.

Jesse turned and jumped to the building in front of her, throwing the cases behind him. She managed to catch them mid-jump to the adjacent building, slinging them over her shoulder and cutting a path behind the bandits that followed Jesse. It took a second for one of them to change course, but she already had a good lead on him. They were approaching from the side of the Tower now, still a good distance away, but she couldn’t help the smile that spread on her face at the thought of walking right through the front door with the Antizin they so desperately needed. That’s when she heard the crashing sound behind her, the sound of wood being splintered, and she regrettably turned to see what had caused it. 

Tahir had run right through a boarded-up doorway that led to the rooftops, the level she was on, and was tailing her. “Nat!” she heard from below her, and it was Dave, following her path from the streets. There was a big jump up ahead, and only a wooden, half-ass put together roof to land on, so it was time to get rid of the cargo. She quickly slung the strap over her head, held it over the edge of the building while she ran and dropped it to Dave’s awaiting arms. He disappeared into another alley, but she couldn’t keep eyes on him, the edge of the building coming up quick. She could still hear Tahir’s boots behind her, and she hoped to God he wouldn’t jump after her. Natalia prepared herself in the next couple paces before launching for the wooden roof. She landed in a roll to ease the fall, the rooftop surprisingly holding true; that was until Tahir came crashing down behind her, his weight and not-so-easy landing causing them to go crashing through the makeshift gazebo. 

Natalia groaned as she rolled onto her side with a hiss, “ _Fuuck_ , you fucking oaf,” she mumbled as she pushed herself up. She had to make it to the next level up, but before she was completely upright Tahir kicked her backwards through the doorway of the shack. She stumbled back, but as he drew closer she swung at him with a right hook, only for him to catch her wrist. He used her own momentum to spin her around and shove her face-first into the wall, bending her arm and pinning it behind her back, his other forearm braced across the back of her neck. “What is it with you and kicking things?” she grumbled, though it didn’t come out as clear with the side of her face pressed against the wall.

“You’ve been a real pain in my ass lately,” he sneered right behind her ear, bracing his knee against the back of her thigh to stop her efforts to kick him. 

“Rais not happy with you returning empty handed lately?” she mocked, and was rewarded with a sharp pain in her shoulder as he pulled her arm up higher behind her back. 

“Not especially with a certain package that got away in the middle of the night,” he growled.

She made a muffled ‘Aha’ sound. “So, you had to go back to Rais with your tail between your legs and tell him you failed.” The last part came out in a rush, her voice increasing in pitch as he stretched her arm higher. 

Natalia wasn’t sure why Rais wanted her, but she had a dreading feeling she was going to find out if she didn’t get out of this little predicament of hers. She tried to use her free left hand as leverage against the wall to push him off, but Tahir’s body was like another wall at her back keeping her from going anywhere. In her efforts to squirm free, one particular thrust backwards with her hips elicited a low groan that sounded by her ear, causing goosebumps to raise across the back of her neck. She froze for a second until she realized what it was she felt at the top of her ass.

“What the-,” she questioned, mortified, her face suddenly flushed. The urgency to get away from him ever apparent, but she hesitated to struggle against him further.

A chuckle rolled from his chest, and he was still close enough to feel him, his breath tickling the side of her neck. “What can I say,” his arm left the back of her neck and grabbed a handful of her hair, yanking her head back but keeping the side of her face pressed to the wall, “the Garrison doesn’t get many female... 'visitors' anymore.” 

Her eyes went wide as she looked at anything but his face above hers. She remembered his words from the night she escaped, how he liked the thrill of the chase, the fight. Christ, she practically egged him on. Using her free hand again she tried to reach for anything she could use, but her machete was on the opposite hip, so she tried to grab for his when he released her hair to pin her hand to the wall. 

She was stuck, and for a split second she almost accepted that she was going to be taking a trip to the Garrison when she realized she could actually move her head again. He towered above her though, so she couldn’t headbutt him. His knee was still against the back of her left leg, but her right leg was free for now, she would have to try. Since he was practically holding her up Natalia could get her knee up and wedged between herself and the wall, and with a little more struggling, her foot flat on the wall, and with a quick jerk of her other leg she got it free and did the same. Tahir tried to twist her arm that was still hiked up behind her back to keep her from going any further, but she had to push through the pain. His legs were still placed fairly close to the wall, so when she kicked off from it with as much force as she could it put him off balance and sent them both to the ground. His grip on her wrists faltered slightly as they fell, but that was all she needed to slip her hands from his grasp. 

She rolled off of him, scrambling to her feet as she tried to make it out the doorway when his grasp on her ankle had her meeting the floor again. He pulled her back towards him, but she rolled onto her back and used her free foot to send another kick to his face, this time feeling the crunch of his nose under her shoe. Tahir recoiled with a string of profanities, letting go of her foot.

“You’ll learn to stop grabbing my foot one day!” she yelled behind her as she used the opportunity to get to her feet again and run out of the building, dropping down to the streets this time to use the maze of buildings to get to the Tower. It would be a little harder to find her down there if Tahir managed to get up quickly to pursue her. 

She pushed her way through the straggling biters and vaulted over the last one that stood between her and the courtyard of the Tower. The pit in her stomach alleviated only when she made it through the front entrance, heading around the corner and pulling herself up to the second floor. It wasn’t until then that she took a moment to catch her breath, noting the expectant looks she was getting from the guards and everyone around. Realizing she should have been the last of the runners to come in, from her group at least, she quickly made her way to the elevator and up to headquarters. She knew something was off the moment she stepped into the room. Everyone had returned it looked like, but they were all sitting around, heads bowed, not really looking at each other. 

Brecken stood as she entered. “Uh, hey,” she hesitated, “how’d the runs go? Did Dave make it back with the Antizin?” Dave was the last person she saw with the cases before Tahir caught up to her, and they weren’t that far away from the Tower. 

Brecken said nothing though, but put a hand on her shoulder as he led her out onto the balcony and away from everyone inside. Once outside he slid the glass door shut behind them, slow to face her again. “Rais’ guys caught up with him. They took the Antizin.”

A sigh left her in a huff, “Shit.” And then she looked to the bandages on his head, remembering what Rais’ men did when they caught him. “Where is he? Will he still be able to go on the run tonight? Maybe we can-”

He just shook his head, silencing her. “They left him in a bad way. Wouldn’t kill him, but they left him to the biters and… shit Nat, he got bit.” 

Natalia felt all the color drain from her face, but she didn’t say anything. She pushed past Brecken, slammed the sliding glass door open and pushed through anyone else in her way, making a beeline for Lena with Brecken trailing a safe distance behind her. Once at the clinic they found Lena, standing in front of who she assumed was Dave. Bruises covered his face, his lip was split and his left eye was practically swollen shut. Other than his face and neck, his left shoulder was the only thing visible from above the covers, a freshly cleaned bite mark right at the top. 

Lena stepped out of the way as Brecken came up behind her. “He’s stable, but I’m sure you’re aware just how desperately we need the Antizin now.”

Natalia tried to keep her voice low and level. “How much do we have?”

“Five vials, and at least twenty-or-so infected survivors who have been waiting for-”

“Fuck them,” she stated, appalled. “They aren’t out there risking their lives for this shit!”

Brecken shushed her as he ushered her out of the clinic, heading back for the headquarters. “Nat, stop. You know how we do things here.”

And yet she still couldn’t believe he was going to make Dave wait for the Antizin that who knows when the fuck they would get it. When they got back to headquarters everyone seemed more on edge.

“So how many do we have for the run tonight, we need as many as possible,” she stated, taking Brecken’s usual spot at the table over the map. Everyone silently watched her, which irritated her even more. “What!?” she snapped.

“I don’t think we should chance throwing additional runners out there again, I’m going to Rais to make a deal.” 

Natalia watched him in silence, sure he must have been joking. “In the condition you’re in? No fucking way.”

And then all the sudden everyone had something to say. People saying they’d go with him, people siding with her in saying he’s in no condition to do such a thing, some saying Brecken’s the only one who should do it. Jade insisted on going, everyone knew she wasn’t scared, but apparently Brecken made up his mind for her. 

“Then I’ll go,” Natalia spoke up.

The room fell silent again, and she wasn’t sure if it was because they were trying to hold back their laughter or if they weren’t sure whether or not she was serious. She was still considered the newbie. Brecken broke the silence. 

“No, you don’t know what you’d be getting yourself into,” he tried to say in a final tone.

 _But if only he knew_. “Look, Rais doesn’t know my face like he knows your guys’, and let’s be honest, if he saw you now would he even take you seriously? You think he would sell the Antizin to you out of pity?”

Silence fell on the room again as everyone looked back and forth between each other and Brecken. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”

She nodded slowly, “It has to be done, let me do this. For Dave.”

“You know if he finds out about this, he’ll kill you.” Brecken shook his head before clasping a hand on her shoulder. “Just, find out what this’ll cost us and come back in one piece.”

Natalia gave a quick nod before looking at everyone’s face in the room. Jade, along with most of them, seemed concerned, except Rahim who gave her a thumbs-up. She gave a tight smile before leaving the room, mind set on getting geared up for the trip. 

By the time she left the tower the evening sun was starting to get lower in the sky, so she had to make haste. Jade’s voice over her radio was odd, but she appreciated her kind words. Natalia knew Rais wouldn’t know who she was, but she was worried about who did. Tahir could put her right on the spot the second she walked in, and then where would that leave her? Completely fucked, probably. But that could also look bad on him, she supposed. The girl he was supposed to bring in over a week ago and having failed to do so twice, just waltzing right through the front door. She just hoped to God Tahir would be busy with the next airdrop, which should be coming through any time now. She was following the train tracks not far from the Garrison when Rahim’s voice crackled over her radio, boy was it pep-talk hour or what? Though he merely wanted to offer some smart words of advice, she was approaching the Garrison now and it was time to go. Off in the distance she could hear the cargo plane, and with a silent prayer she stepped into view at the front gate, hands raised. 

“Don’t shoot, don’t shoot!” she yelled as the guards on top of the gate took aim. 

“Hands up!” one of them called, refusing to lower his rifle. “What the fuck do you want?”

She slowed down for a beat, but the straggling biters surrounding the area were honing in on her, so she jumped on top of one of the vans. “I’m here to see Rais. Brecken sent me.”

They lowered their rifles a hair. “Brecken? That asshole in the Tower?” the other one spoke this time, and Natalia had to bite her tongue. “Alright, what does _he_ want.”

“I’m here to make a deal.”

“What kind of deal?” the thug pried, but she was getting impatient.

“The kind I make with Rais, not his flunkies,” she snapped.

He scoffed, but lowered his rifle completely. “Alright, let her through. This oughta be entertaining.”

The biters surrounding the van were starting to get too close for comfort, so with the permission to enter she easily leapt over the gate and onto the some-what safer ground on the other side. The guards only watched her for a moment before turning their attention back to the grounds in front of the gate, so figuring she wasn’t getting an escort she turned to the dark hallway and stepped inside. The gate in front of her read ‘WELCOME FRIEND’, and if that wasn’t a bad omen she wasn’t sure what was. Do friends have to knock? She figured it was a good idea, and gave it a good couple hits with the side of her fist. A second later the door was sliding open, one of the bandits with what looked like a painted gas mask peering in to see who was entering. Over his head, she saw something happening in the courtyard nestled between the U-shaped building; a man in what looked like a worn-out dark suit questioning someone restrained to a chair, two guards behind him, but a hulking figure to the left approaching her rather quickly froze her in her spot. 

Tahir stepped in front of her, a little closer than she liked, keeping her from going any further. She couldn’t really read his expression; it was like he was trying to appear relaxed while he was obviously anything but. “What the hell do you want?” he asked in a low voice, and gave the guy behind her that opened the door a look that sent him a few paces out of earshot before glaring back down at her. 

“What, I thought you wanted me here.” If he was supposed to bring her back to the Garrison but was questioning it now with Rais present, then he must not have given too many details about her. “Aren’t you supposed to be going for the airdrop?” she asked, finally looking up at him and away from the situation in the courtyard. The bruising around his nose reminded her of the kick that probably broke it earlier, but for the most part it looked like it was corrected almost back to normal. “Or did your nose hurt too much?”

She refrained from pouting at him for effect because it looked like he was ready to wind up when a scream from behind him drew her attention. Peering at the space past his arm, she saw the man in the black suit had chopped off the man in the chairs arm, and Tahir had stopped her involuntary step forward. 

That had to be Rais. He stepped away to wipe the blood spatter from his face, waving dismissively to the both of them. “Tahir, who’s your _friend_?”

Tahir regarded her for a second, and Natalia didn’t realize she was holding her breath waiting for him to blow her spot. “Tower trash,” he finally said before turning his back to her to join Rais, and her breath left her in a huff.

“Ah, I thought you had the look of the Tower about you. What do you want?” he asked, tossing the bloodied rag away. 

She fought the urge to look down at her attire. “I’m here to make a deal.”

“A deal… for Antizin no doubt.” He finally regarded her, eyeing her up briefly. “Desperate times…” The first thing she noticed was that Rais didn’t wear a shirt under the suit jacket, revealing a heavily tattooed torso and a single gold chain around his neck. He approached her, Tahir next to him, and she couldn’t help but feel cornered. “And what do you offer in return?” And there’s the part she was dreading. “Your services? Your loyalty? … Perhaps I shall take both.”

And with that he walked off to the right wing of the building, leaving her with Tahir, though he didn’t spare any time for bullshit. “Talk to Karim, he’s one of ours. Do what he asks of you, and Rais will consider giving your people some Antizin, understood?”

Well, she had plenty of bullshit to spare. “Whoever fixed your nose did a good job, can’t even tell you took a foot to the face,” she whispered, just loud enough for him to hear.

He stepped up to her again, and she tried not to crane her neck back to look up at him. He looked like he wanted to say something, but he only sneered at her before turning to follow Rais into the other end of the building. Left in the courtyard alone, she decided it was a good time to go find this Karim guy.


	4. The Catch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Be careful who you trust.

Karim was an interesting character to say the least, but without wasting too much time he sent her off on her first errand just as it grew dark; climbing antenna towers and switching on the shortwave modulators. Their spotty communications with outposts have posed somewhat of a problem, and they didn’t seem to be worried about this actually being something that will help everyone around the quarantine, including the Tower. The first antenna proved useless, and as much as Natalia just wanted to stay up in the tower and wait out the night, she took the zip line down and headed to the second one, which happened to be occupied by Alexei and his son Kristov. Aside from a couple questions and some convincing from her end, they let her climb the tower to switch on the transmitter. On her way back to the Garrison Rahim’s voice came over the radio, practically scaring the shit out of her and causing her to duck into the nearest building to muffle the sounds, only to let her know everyone at the Tower knew what she did and wish her the best. She was also patched through to Troy, a leader of a group called the Embers over in sector 0, who offered her assistance if ever needed. Just making friends everywhere she went, though she wished they would have waited until daybreak.

Natalia was on her way again to the Garrison, doing a pretty good job at avoiding any roaming volatiles, hoping to report to Rais and get to leave with the Antizin. But he had another idea.

“What? I thought we had a deal!” she protested, making one of the guards behind Rais grab for his pistol. 

“Did you think I would be satisfied so easily? You still have plenty to prove,” he warned.

“There are people depending on that drug! What if you let me take it now, and I’ll come back and do whatever you need,” she pleaded, though trying not to sound so defeated. 

“You’ll get the Antizin when I SAY, and not a second before.” The raising of his voice sent her aback, but she stood her ground. His eyes roamed over her again, and she couldn’t help the tightness in her throat. Tahir’s rough voice echoed in the back of her mind, about the Garrison not getting many female visitors. “Though I like the sound of ‘whatever I need’. However, I’m not unreasonable. Do this next task for me, and I’ll give you two crates of Antizin to take back to your Tower.”

She sighed. “Alright, what do you need me to do?”

***************************

Natalia grumbled to herself as she left the old ferry station, her third and last stop in Rais’ shakedown errand. It had been a little difficult passing herself, just some five-foot-something girl, as one of Rais’ ‘thugs’, but she managed to be pretty convincing when need be. Though maybe threatening to break some old guy’s legs was probably a little much, not like she would have been able to drag him back to Rais anyway. 

With a pack full of money and the sun slowly rising, she climbed onto one of the shacks outside of the ferry station to radio Karim. “Ok Karim, I just left the ferry station with the money. And I’m pretty sure I’m going to hell.”

“Join the club,” he chuckled. “Now come back and claim your prize. And good job today,” he added. 

Probably the nicest guy on the compound.

She wasn’t even halfway back to the compound when Brecken came over the radio, frantic as all hell. “Nat, are you there? Do you copy?”

“I copy, what’s up?” she asked, running along the top of a concrete wall.

“Someone’s turned on the eighteenth floor.” She almost fell off the wall. “We’re doing our best to contain it, but we need that Antizin right fucking now.”

They knew she was doing everything she could to get this Antizin from Rais, and she knew how pressing matters were. That being said, they haven’t bugged her about hurrying, that was until just then. “Rais has promised me two crates, Brecken. I’m doing this shit as fast as I can,” she replied, a little winded from picking up her pace as she jumped up onto the roof of a shack.

“God, just hurry, please!”

And she did, breaking into a sprint as she landed in the streets again, vaulting over or ramming her way through any biters that staggered into her path. Karim came back over the radio, and she had to fight a screaming protest to his favor.

“See if you can find the patrol, or don’t bother coming back,” he said with finality, ending the conversation. 

God _fucking_ dammit. 

She came up on the gas station where they had last contacted the patrol, quickly finding them all dead. “Karim, I found your patrol. All dead.” She rolled one of the bodies over by the gas pump, the man’s dead eyes staring skyward through his mask. 

“Search the bodies,” he insisted, “look for a small envelope.”

As she stood to scout the rest of the bodies, gunfire at her feet had her staggering backwards. Natalia quickly jumped behind one of the vans in the lot, almost falling on another body. Giving the body a once over, she didn’t find the envelope, but she did grab his rifle, thankful that some of the guys still carried these around, though out in the open they were more harmful than helpful. 

“Did you find the envelope?” Karim pestered.

“Little busy!” she yelled back over the gunfire before peeking out from behind the van to pop off a couple shots at her attacker. 

“Just find it, now.” 

“God dammit Karim I’m- _fuck!_ ” she cried as a bullet grazed the side of her left thigh, retreating behind the van once more. 

“What’s going on?” he asked urgently, but she decided to ignore him until this fucker was taken care of. 

She made her way to the front of the van in a crouch, mentally counting to three before bolting across the gap to duck behind the cab on the other side of the pumps, bullets hitting the ground behind her heels. When the bullet spray paused a quick peek over the hood revealed the guy was stuck reloading, so she steadied her rifle on the hood of the car and took aim. A well-placed shot sent his head snapping back, and his body slumping lifeless over the lip of the roof. With a satisfied sigh, she huffed as she stood and limped over to the last body right in front of the building. Figures that would have been the guy with the blueprints.

“Alright Karim, I have the envelope.” 

“Good!” he exclaimed, and she couldn’t help but groan. “Bring it back to me quickly. You’re going to be a hero around here.” 

She figured that was supposed to make her feel good, but the throbbing in her leg from the bullet graze wouldn’t let her. By the time she made it over the front gates of the Garrison the stream of blood that ran down her leg had soaked through her athletic pants had begun to dry. 

Karim greeted her just outside the hallway. “Excellent! You’re more dependable than most of these drunks.” He held his hand out and Natalia passed him the blood-stained envelope. “Rais is waiting for you inside. Maybe we can work together again sometime.”

She couldn’t help the nervous laugh that escaped her. "God I hope not,” she mumbled after she turned away from him to head down the hallway. 

Banging at the metal gate as she did before, a different masked guy opened it, standing in her way as he regarded her silently. She was about to speak up when he stepped aside, letting her through so he could close the gate behind her. This didn’t seem good. She turned her attention back to Rais who seemed to be grilling three of his guys, gun in hand.

“I should send each one of you to the pit,” he threatened before finally acknowledging her presence. “Ah, the Tower lackey returns. And you have something for me, friend?” 

She didn’t like the way he called her that, but she retrieved the money from her pack. “Yea, I do.” The guy from the door came up beside her and grabbed it without warning, making her side-eye him in the worst way. “I held up my end, now it’s your turn. Two crates of Antizin.”

He paused for just a beat, which was enough to send Natalia’s heart into her stomach. “I think not…” He said before he rambled on about her blind obedience to the Tower, thoughtlessness of following orders. “…like a good little dog,” he finished with a sneer. 

But she was seeing red. “We had a deal!” she pressed, and he turned to grab something off of the crates next to him. 

“I will allow you this much.” He tossed the thing to her, and she finally realized what it was.

“Five vials?! You promised two crates-” but she was cut off by the sudden gunshot, flinching in response. 

He’d shot one of the men he was yelling at earlier, but it couldn’t have been anything lethal since he was still standing, doubled over and holding onto his hand. “If you want more, I present you with an opportunity.”

Great, more jobs.

“The athlete, ‘The Scorpion’. Jade Aldemir. Bring her to me.” He slowly walked towards her, rifle still in hand. “I have an arena where men fight for our amusement. I would have the Scorpion fight for us.” She couldn’t believe what she was hearing, but Rais stepped even closer. “I’m curious how long it would take a person of her caliber to… break.”

All her effort was put into keeping her jaw from dropping. “Wh-what? No, are you crazy?” But she already knew the answer to that. 

“Well then what about you?” he pressed further, and Natalia actually took a step back, “why don’t you fight for us, hmm? A crate of Antizin for a successful fight.”

She almost considered it, but the way he threatened the three men earlier with throwing them in ‘the pit’. That had to be what he was talking about. Her hesitation, however, didn’t go unnoticed. 

“Go,” Rais dismissed her with a wave of his hand, “take those vials back to the Tower. Think about it.”

And just like that she had forgotten all about the Tower. Shit. She turned on her heel, and the guard at the door didn’t even have it slid open all the way before she squeezed through. The guard at the end of the hallway though had the barred door partly close, and he was leaning into it facing her, his arms resting between the bars. He whistled at her like one would to get a dog’s attention, and she halfway considered kicking the door back on him until he tried again, this time with a hushed ‘hey’.

Her step faltered, and she slowed to a stop just behind the door when she noticed between his fingers he was holding out a folded piece of paper. Regarding him cautiously, she grabbed it and went to unfold it until he spoke up again.

“Not here.”

“What is-”

“One of the guys said to give it to you on your way out,” he said quickly before swinging the door open the rest of the way for her, and then walking off.

She eyed it curiously before slipping it into her pocket, and with one last look at the measly five vials of Antizin, took off up the ramp and over the front gates, sprinting for the Tower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew. Sorry it took this long, I wasn't sure if anyone was really interested. But I just have to edit the next chapter a bit and I'll get it posted in a day or two. I miss writing this shit!!!


	5. Trade-offs

It was utter chaos, and the agonizingly slow elevator ride up to headquarters was torture. When the doors finally slid open Jade was there to give Natalia the run down, take the Antizin and disappear to find Lena. She was left with instructions to go see Brecken, so she headed down the hallway at a brisk walk. To say Brecken was a wreck was an understatement, but she understood why he was that way. He was feeling the pressure, unsure of himself and his leadership abilities, and the Antizin supply dwindling so quickly and so often didn’t do anything to help ease that pressure. Thankfully Lena and Jade were there to take charge and somewhat clean things up; all the more reason for her not to try and convince or trick Jade into going to the Garrison. They needed her here, and now Brecken was still trying to go to Rais himself.

“Brecken, I have a plan. But, I’m not sure how long it’ll take. Just know that I’m working on something.” She put a hand on his shoulder, giving a reassuring squeeze. “The people of the Tower need you strong, and you’ve done so much good for them.”

He didn’t seem to really believe her, but he nodded slowly. “Alright, fine… I’ll wait, but not for long.”

Walking out of the headquarters, Natalia had one more stop before she made a move to do anything. Quickly dropping by the clinic, she saw Dave sitting up in his bed, his head hung and his eyes closed. Suddenly, seeing him didn’t seem like such a great idea. What if he resented her for the whole ordeal? He absolutely wouldn’t be there if she hadn’t pushed to fight Rais’ men for the drop. He looked up and saw her before she had the time to retreat, and she was shocked to say the least to see the happiness in his eyes. 

“Oh God Nat, thank goodness you’re okay! You’re the only one I haven’t seen since the run yesterday.” He tried to adjust himself to sit sideways on the bed but flinched and quickly wrapped his arm around his torso.

Natalia stepped in the room further. “Easy Dave,” she sat on the edge of the bed by his legs, “and I know, I’m sorry. I came as soon as I got back but you were asleep.”

He seemed to remember something and watched her, worried. “Yea, I remember you dropping the cases to me because… how the hell did you get away from Tahir??”

Everything flashed in her mind and she had to physically shake the memory from her head. “I caught him off guard.”

But Dave wasn’t buying it. “Yea, well, I’m glad. ‘Cause you could have ended up worse than me.” Dave paused as if he wasn’t sure if he should say whatever was on his mind, but decided to anyway. “Please tell me what I’ve heard isn’t true… that you weren’t at the Garrison trying to make a deal for Antizin.”

She couldn’t meet his gaze, but she nodded. “I have to go back.”

“Nat, plea-” he started to protest, but when her eyes snapped to his he stopped. 

“We need it, and if Brecken steps a foot anywhere near the Garrison they’re going to tear him apart, physically and mentally.”

“And what about you?” he interrogated, but she could only shrug.

“I’m still walking.” Natalia tried a mock smile, but it was Dave’s turn to avoid her eyes.

“Please-,” he started, but paused to rethink his approach. “I know there’s no convincing you once your mind has been made, but please, just don’t keep digging your own grave if you get in too deep.”

She smiled and slowly stood. She wanted to stay and talk to him, but feared if they ran out of things to talk about she’d start thinking of his infected state, and she didn’t want to ask him about the seizures. So, she walked out and headed to her room, locking her door behind her and going to the bathroom. She was actually going to do what Rais said and just take some time to think in general, and sleep, since she skipped out last night. But now that she wasn’t going nonstop, her aches and pains were starting to catch up with her, and she wanted to get the bullet graze cleaned. 

Standing by the tub, Natalia untied the drawstrings of her athletic pants and slid them down, being extra careful around the open wound on the outside of her left thigh. Dried blood was smeared around the graze and mostly down her leg, and she almost had the pants completely off when a folded-up piece of paper fell out of the pocket. She paused for a second before remembering the guard at the Garrison that had given it to her; in the midst of rushing back to the Tower, the panic that was ensuing when she arrived and then going to see Dave, she’d forgotten all about it. Taking a seat on the edge of the tub, pants loosely hanging onto her knees, she unfolded the crumpled paper. 

In horrible chicken-scratch handwriting with what was probably an almost completely dull pencil, it read a simple message: _I have the Antizin you need. Meet near the safehouse under the highway before sundown._

Natalia’s heart leapt and her eyes flickered to her watch. Shit, it was already going on six. She stood and jerked her pants on again, trying to ignore the sting as they scraped roughly against the gash on her leg. It would have to wait, the Antizin couldn’t. Fastening the belt with her machete sheathed, she also stashed a couple of throwing knives in the other pouch on her belt, along with some tattered towels in her bag as packing-cushion for the Antizin before she rushed out of her room. Avoiding anyone who might stop to question her going out now, she made it to the elevator and down to the ground floor in no time. The sun was low, but if she booked it she could make it to the location near the safe zone under the overpass and hopefully back in no time.

There were a lot of buildings in the cluttered location, but Natalia settled for the three-leveled one with the hatch propped open with a crowbar on the roof. After a quick sweep around the building, she came to the conclusion that that was the only way in and out. All the windows looked heavily barred, and an attempt at a side door proved futile. Hopefully it was just an easy latch on the inside; that would have to be her escape route if necessary. Mentally preparing herself for, well, anything, she jumped from an adjacent roof up to the balcony with the open hatch. Surely whoever it was is expecting her, so not bothering to announce herself she jumped into the opening, 

Landing with a light thud, Natalia quickly righted herself to scan the room. Empty. With the third floor being the entirety of that one room, she quietly descended the stairs to the second floor. The first room was empty aside from some living room furniture, but the second room off to the side held promise, the doorway unbarred. A quick peek around the corner revealed it to be the kitchen, and stacked on the table against the wall were two cases of Antizin. The two she was supposed to get from Rais. A newfound energy taking over, she rushed over to the boxes and slid her pack off of her shoulder; a thin chain locked tightly around them held them together and shut, while the slack ran through the boards covering the window and, if she had to guess, looped around the bars on the other side. Her fingers deftly ran over the lock; she could probably pick it easily, but a creak from the other room grabbed her attention. 

“Hello?” she called out quietly as she stood upright, slowly grabbing a throwing knife from its pouch. It had to be Rais’ guy sneaking up on her, or maybe she was just too distracted to hear them announce themselves, but until she knew they meant well she would have to be on guard. 

Slowly stepping towards the doorway, she saw no one standing at the stairway that led down to the first floor. After a pause, she continued through the arch, throwing knife ready. She did not expect to see Tahir standing at the foot of the stairs leading back up, leaning back into the corner, crowbar in hand. She froze. The motherfucker waited for her to go in first and then trapped her in there, she should have known this to be a trick. 

As if the realization showed on her face, a smirk grew on his as he pushed himself off the wall. “Well, well. Didn’t actually expect you to show up.”

But she had no time for being mocked, she had to get out of there. Blindly throwing her knife towards his head, causing him to strafe to the side and almost trip over the end of the stairs, Natalia dove for the stairs going down. She rolled down most of the way but got up quickly and found the side door that was latched shut in the next room. Unfortunately, as she approached she saw the locks that were holding the latches shut. With a cry of frustration, she ran into the door with full force, hanging onto the hope that for some miraculous reason it would be enough to bust it open. But all it left her with was an aching shoulder, and then a paralyzing panic as she heard Tahir’s boots hit the ground in the other room. She tried to fight through it though and grabbed another throwing knife from the pouch on her hip. She whirled around to throw it, but Tahir was already right in front of her. He barreled into her, the force knocking her back into the door. One of his hands braced against the door while the other grabbed her wrist with the throwing knife. He bashed the back of her hand against the wall next to her head, causing her to let out a pained yell as the knife fell from her grip and clattered to the floor. Her other hand not in his grasp braced against his armored vest, uselessly trying to gain any distance from him.

She finally looked up to him when she could practically feel the smug look he was giving her. “What, you’re running before you’ve even got the Antizin? The people of the Tower would be so disappointed.”

Her breath hitched slightly in disbelief. “You-, the note. That, was you?”

He sort of nodded his head to the side, his grip loosening a fraction on her wrist, testing to see if she would still fight against him for now. “You did what Rais had told Karim to tell you to do.”

No shit. He was giving her what Rais promised. He was going against his orders. “But,” she paused, remembering her first time meeting Rais. “He cut the hand off a man he called a friend, what do you think he’d do to you?” she asked with slight bemusement. Not that she cared what happened to him or anything. 

It didn’t seem to faze him however, for he simply shrugged a shoulder. “Rais needs me. And he doesn’t know about these cases.” A pause, but this time when his conniving eyes met hers she felt the pit in her stomach deepen. “But that doesn’t mean you can’t still make it worth my while.”

“Worth your while… how?” She asked cautiously, though she wasn’t sure if she didn’t actually understand or if she just couldn’t believe what he was suggesting. “If it’s money, I can come up with it.” But if the dark look in his eyes wasn’t enough to give it away, he shifted, standing closer and taller, his hips pressing her back into the door. That’s what she figured. “I’ll take my chances in the pit,” she said with conclusiveness, though not feeling as sure as she sounded. Who the hell knew what Rais would put her through in there. 

A laugh rumbled through him, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him again, so she looked at her hand on his chest piece instead. “Rais wont reward you half as well as you think. The shortest fight in the pit runs at a half-hour, and that’s because the fucker died.” Natalia accidentally looked up to see him watching her, the dark look never leaving his eyes. “It would be easier, and enjoyable at least,” he smirked. 

She scoffed in disbelief, “enjoyable for who?”

He seemed to be getting impatient though, the pressure of his hips against her growing slightly. “Do you want the Antizin, or not?”

Natalia paused, much to her chagrin. This should be an easy decision, but his words about the pit echoed in the back of her mind. He could have been lying, of course, but Rais using it as threat against his own men didn’t seem too promising. And she didn’t doubt that Rais’ rewards for fighting in the pit would be miniscule, if his last un-held promises held any capacity. Then she thought of Dave, and the eighteenth floor they just lost. They needed the Antizin, badly.

Tahir sensed this hesitation and took advantage of it, and in one swift movement she was dangling over his shoulder, one arm across the back of her knees keeping her legs pinned, causing Natalia to let out a surprised yelp. 

“Son of a-... put me down!” she yelled, slamming her fists in his back roughly where his kidneys were located.

Unfortunately, his vest was too thick to be able to do any damage, so she resorted in kicking her feet until he jolted her, shifting her further on his shoulder with his arm braced around the back of her calves. He was walking back to the first room to take her back upstairs probably. She went to grab for her machete, now dangling upside-down at her side, but with the way it was twisted she couldn’t get the leverage to unsheathe it, and the pouch holding the rest of her throwing knives was still open from before, and in the split second she went over his shoulder they all flew to the ground. She desperately looked for any weapons he might have on him as he neared the stairs, but all his pouches and holsters were empty. He must have ditched the crowbar somewhere. 

He wasn’t careful in his ascent up the steps, knocking the back of her head against the edge of the opening in the floor. She groaned as she rubbed the spot, and she swore she heard him laugh. He took her through the archway that led back to the kitchen, going to the center of the room and then turning to face the wall so that she was facing the table with the Antizin crates on top. It wasn’t until he stopped that she looked up, staring at the GRE boxes that were practically staring back at her. 

Tahir crouched forward to stand her back on her feet and took a single step to the side, just enough to still tower in front of her but out of the way of her view of the cases. “You need the Antizin, right?” he asked in that monotonous low voice of his. Natalia didn’t want to speak, the lump in her throat practically choking her, so she nodded slowly instead. 

His hands went to the belt that held her sheathed machete, causing her to jump. But she let him continue, her gaze never leaving the Antizin crates. He slowly undid the belt, his eyes still trained on her face, “and you’d be no good to the Tower dead at the bottom of the pit.” 

He held her machete in one hand as the belt slid from around her hips, using his free hand to pull the drawstring of her pants loose. “Rais will make sure that’s how your first fight ends,” he said with finality. She didn’t doubt that much.

She huffed, releasing the breath she hadn’t realized she was holding when Tahir stepped behind her and out of sight. She heard him put her machete down on the counter somewhere behind her, but then it was silent for a few beats too many. All she could hear was the blood rushing in her ears, the reality of what she was about to do hitting her. She heard some shuffling behind her and made the mistake of bowing her head, turning it ever-so slightly to peek over her shoulder. He was unstrapping the sides of his vest before he lifted it over his head, revealing the simple black sleeveless shirt he wore underneath. Even with it being a plated vest, it didn’t take away from his hulking form. Her gaze snapped forward again, hopefully before he noticed, to the cases on the table. That’s what she came here for.

She had steadied her breathing until she felt him right behind her and her breath faltered again, his hands now going to the collar of her track jacket, sliding it over her shoulders and down her arms. For someone who had a reputation for being quite brutal, she couldn’t help but wonder why he was treating her so carefully now. She heard him discard her jacket to the floor somewhere behind them, leaving her in her undershirt. The heat radiating from his body became apparent as it warmed the skin of her back, and then she felt him flush against her, his need also making itself known. 

She swallowed hard as he walked her forward with just his body, until the tops of her thighs were touching the table in front of her. “That’s what you want, isn’t it?”

His voice was dangerously low, toying, and it sent an unfamiliar tingle down her spine that almost made her jump. She swallowed past the lump in her throat, hoping she would sound sure. “Yes.”

Tahir’s hand between her shoulder blades forced her to bend forward so quickly she barely caught herself before her chin smacked against the table top, her breath leaving her in a rush. He held her flush against the surface for a moment before his hand slid down her back while the other joined it at the waistband of her pants. Natalia closed her eyes as she felt them dip under the waistband on either side of her hips, kneading the skin as they worked their way back to grip the ample flesh of her ass. She heard the groan that resonated in his chest, and that tingle worked its way down her spine again, hitting her sides in a way that had her biting her bottom lip to keep from making a sound. Jesus what was wrong with her. 

One of his hands went back to her hip while the other worked its way further down to her inner thigh, and Natalia’s eyes snapped open. She kept them focused on the Antizin cases before her, hoping this all would have been worth it. It had to be. Suddenly inhaling a shaking breath, she was brought back to the now when his hand reached the apex between her legs, his fingers dipping under the thin material of her panties and finding her clit. He circled the bud a few times, increasing the pressure every few strokes. She couldn’t help the choked moan that escaped her now, squeezing her eyes shut again as she laid her forehead against the tabletop. 

Tahir’s breaths were coming out more ragged now as he alternated between stroking her clit and running his fingers along her slit, coating them with her juices. He moved his hand from her hip to the table next to her side, bracing himself as he leaned over her slightly. Though she was working hard to contain it, he could hear her breath laboring as he worked her clit, and a triumphant smirk grew on his lips as he dipped a finger between her folds and slid it inside her, earning a surprised gasp from her. He didn’t wait long, and after a few good pumps he added a second finger, pushing them deep into her and then curling them up on the way out. 

Natalia lifted her head again slightly, trying to keep her eyes open and trained on the Antizin cases, but they fluttered with every curl of his fingers. The way he was pumping them into her had a heat coiling in her lower stomach, she barely registered him using his other hand to inch her waistband over the curve of her ass and down past her hips. He struggled one-handed with his own belt, undoing the zip of his pants and working them down to his hips along with his briefs, just enough to free his hardening erection. He grasped himself with an almost relieved sigh as he continued to pump his fingers into her. It sounded as if she is approaching an orgasm, and fuck if her struggling moans weren’t enough to spur him on. 

He increased the pace of his thrusts, abandoning technique and just going for driving it home. Natalia, eyes clamped shut again, was trying to focus on the sensations of her pending orgasm over who was actually providing it. Seeing that the infection outbreak was around three months ago, and the infrequent nature of her sex life, it’s been a while to say the least, though the nature of her current situation wasn’t really helping things along. She was slowly reaching her climax, but Tahir was quickly growing impatient. 

Natalia inhaled and held her breath, sure that the next few thrusts would be the ones to drive her over the edge, but Tahir suddenly withdrew his fingers and the breath she was holding came out as a disappointed whimper that made her want to slam her forehead against the table. He paid no mind to her though as he lined the head of his cock up to her entrance, and without hesitation he pushed himself into her. Her mouth fell open, only silence coming out as he stretched her to accommodate his girth. Tahir let out a low growl the entire length until being fully seated in her, his fists on the table keeping him propped up as he leaned over her, his head bowed over her upper back. She could feel his breaths gusting over her skin, and she finally clamped her mouth shut again, clenching her teeth as she adjusted to his size.

“Fuuuck,” he growled, and the sound had her inner walls clenching him desperately. She knew it, and the low hum he made in response let her know that he surely felt it. 

Thinking nothing of it at first, he got to work setting a pace that had Natalia biting her lip, holding back a moan with each thrust. She still wasn’t adjusted to him, and each pump into her had her trying to inch away, though her thighs against the table kept her from going too far. Tahir finally grabbed her shoulder and as he thrust forward he pulled her back onto him, eliciting a cry that she wasn’t able to hold back, but he was unrelenting. 

He placed that hand on the table over her shoulder to keep her from inching away again, now leaning over her further. “Not trying to get away, are you?” he rasped, and she could feel his breath tickle the skin behind her ear. She pressed her forehead to the table again, humming low in protest as she involuntarily clenched down on his cock inside her. He groaned, but it turned into a low chuckle as he continued thrusting into her. “So, you like when I talk, is that it?”

Natalia groaned in response. “Shut… up,” she rasped in between thrusts. 

“But I don’t think you really want me to,” he paused to bottom out in her, and they both groaned in unison. “I can feel you clench down on my cock whenever I say something.” Tahir pulled out of her nearly all the way before burying himself in her completely, causing her to moan aloud. He did that once more, this time grabbing her shoulder and pulling her back into the thrust again, eliciting a mewling cry from her. He grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her upright, and she almost let out another yell until the hand on her shoulder moved to cover her mouth. “Shut up,” he growled, his head bowed next to hers so his mouth was next to her ear. “You don’t want the volatiles to hear you, do you?”

Natalia’s eyes looked from the side of his face to the boarded window in front of her. She’d totally forgotten the time of day, well, night now. She was supposed to have been in and out with the Antizin, but her little predicament had kept her there well past sunset. Tahir began slowly thrusting up into her again, and she had to grab for his forearms for purchase. “Fucking hell,” he groaned, causing her to moan in response. “Put your elbows behind your back,” he ordered, and she did as she was told, thankful when he released her hair and laced his arm through the crook of her elbows, holding her somewhat upright. He kept his hand over her mouth though as her moans became more frequent, only spurring him on to pound into her relentlessly. “God, if I’da known you’d be this tight,” he paused to steady his ragged breaths, “I’d have finished with your mouth first.” 

Tahir’s fingertips dug into her cheeks and she clamped her eyes shut, shamelessly moaning into his hand now. His voice on top of his inexorable thrusts would soon drive her towards the orgasm she was chasing before, her knees growing weaker. He was well aware of this, his pace unyielding, wanting to push her just a little further. His hand left her mouth, and she gasped in a deep breath as it traveled down the front of her, landing between her thighs, his fingers circling her clit. Natalia mewled, her legs quivering as the heat coiled in her core. A few more thrusts and well pressured strokes on her clit had her seeing stars as she cried out, and Tahir unlatched his arm from hers to wrap it around her torso, holding her against him as she came apart. 

“God, that’s it,” he groaned as her orgasm washed over her in waves, her whole body quivering in the aftermath, but she wasn’t given much time to come down from her high. Tahir let her fall forward onto the table and his hands went to her sides with a bruising grip as he resumed his pace, mercilessly pounding her pussy until his own release caused his cock to swell, pouring everything her had deep into her. “Fuck,” he hissed, continuing to thrust until the over-sensitivity got to him. 

They both remained there for what felt like an eternity to Natalia, the side of her face pressed to the table while Tahir stayed leant over her body. When he finally straightened himself to pull out of her he laid a rough hand between her shoulders again, keeping her bent over the table. 

“You stay right there,” he warned before he stepped away, his fingertips trailing over her ass. 

She was tense, not knowing what to expect from this man until she heard the rustling of fabric before it was thrown onto her lower back making her flinch. 

“Clean yourself up” he ordered after he must have finished cleaning his own cock. 

Natalia was slow to comply, but she finally stood up straight, though not without trying to cover herself up. Tahir gave a mean chuckle to go with his mocking grin.

“I’d be impressed if you make it back to the tower with the Antizin at this point. You might as well hunker down in here for the night."

As she peeked over her shoulder the smirk she saw on his face made her sick to her stomach. “Unlock the chain,” she said faintly as she pulled her underwear and pants back up over her ass, walking around him to snatch her jacket off the ground.

Tahir gave an indifferent shrug as he pulled out a key from his pocket and unlocked the crates, stepping away to give her some space. However, when Natalia had stepped forward to pull the chain and the Antizin free Tahir was flush against her back again, hands toying with her hair. “I don’t think you know what you’re risking…” he warned, but she shook him off as best as she could, ignoring his deep laughter while emptying the vials from the cases into her somewhat-padded backpack that was also discarded earlier. Without another word she turned and pushed passed him, grabbing her machete belt and walking into the living room ready to run up the stairs and through the hatch in the roof while he followed her, taunting her. “I’ll be seeing you soon then, unless you’ve decided that the pit would be more fun?!” he yelled after her as she was lifting herself through the hatch.

For a second Natalia paused, completely unsure of what just happened and what she was going to do about it. First things first, she needed to get the Antizin back to the Tower, so she kicked the hatch closed and readied her LED flashlight. It was going to be a long trek back if she wanted to stay on the safe side, but she was going to make it. How she was going to explain it, however, was beyond her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omg, finally getting to the good stuff!  
> Not sure who all is reading this, but I've definitely enjoyed writing it so i hope you enjoy it to!


	6. The Pit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Natalia makes a decision, but could it be the wrong one?

Natalia pulled herself up the ledge to the second floor of the Tower, wisps of hair sticking to her sweat-slicked forehead. Night time in Harran wasn’t as forgiving from the heat as one would hope. Clutching her bag carefully she hobbled off to find Lena, the aching in her thigh starting to set in again. Finding her in the clinic at this time of night wasn’t surprising, but when asked where the hell she got all the Antizin from, she was dumfounded. Natalia was supposed to have come up with an excuse by the time she got back but her mind came up blank, so she settled for “don’t ask,” for now.

Lena only shook her head as she took the pack to unload the Antizin into one of the overhead cabinets, leaving Natalia to go stand by David’s bed. Even in his sleep he looked uncomfortable. “He’ll be much better when he gets his next dose, which will be much sooner thanks to you,” Lena tried to reassure her as she handed over the empty pack. “Why don’t you check back in the morning.”

Natalia simply nodded, leaving the clinic to head back to her room to retire for the night. Though, not without first running into Jade who was waiting for her just outside her door. 

“Here.” She shoved a digital watch into her hand. 

“Oh, thanks. But I already-”

“Since yours must’ve been broken earlier.”

“Oh, yea.” So, someone did see her leave. But she wasn’t in the mood for explaining herself tonight, so with a curt nod she skirted around Jade and into her room, feeling her glare right up until she closed the door behind her. 

She stayed leant against the door until she heard Jade finally walk away, heaving out a sigh as a wave of exhaustion finally came over her. Dropping her empty pack and machete belt, Natalia made her way to the bathroom now that she finally had time to clean this damn bullet graze. Carefully stripping her clothes off, she sat on the edge of the tub with her legs inside as the water filled. Grabbing the bottle of vodka that sat on the ledge, she took a quick swig before pouring some over her thigh. She almost bit through her lip trying to keep quiet as the wound stung, the excess alcohol running down her leg and mixing with the water. She lowered herself into the tub, gingerly rubbing the dried blood off the side of her leg. As the stinging sensation subsided she willed herself to lay back and try to relax, though her efforts were proving to be futile. She swore she could still feel Tahir’s grip on her, and it was doing things to her that it absolutely shouldn’t. Natalia squeezed her thighs shut. _Enough of that._

With a huff she leaned her head back. All she knew was they needed a good jump on their Antizin supply, then maybe they could go back to just fighting Rais’ guys for the drops. She would have to go to him soon with her answer, but she couldn’t ignore the tightness in her gut at the thought of fighting in his Pit. Tahir’s warnings echoed in the back of her mind and though she was sure they were to benefit his own agenda, Rais was no doubt a cruel man, his idea of an entertaining fight would probably be no less. So, which pain would be easier to recover from, her pride’s or her body’s? _Fuck me._

**********

She woke slowly the next morning, rolling onto her back as she stretched the full length of her bed until her foot hit something at the end. Her eyes snapped open and she bolted upright, clutching her sheet around her bare chest.

Jade sat at the end of her bed, hands held up in defense. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“And announcing yourself didn’t seem like a good idea?” Natalia quipped.

“I was still deciding on what to say.” She finally put her hands down, resting them in her lap. “I snapped at you yesterday for leaving, but Lena told me what you brought to her.”

Natalia rubbed the sleep from her eyes, not wanting to meet Jade’s gaze just yet. “Don’t worry about it, I know you were just worried about losing another runner.”

“You’re more than just another runner,” she chided, and Natalia finally looked up to her. “We’re all each other has.”

“Just one big happy family.”

Jade rolled her eyes. “But still. Lena showed me the cabinet, and I know we didn’t get an Antizin drop yesterday.”

 _Lie._ Obviously. “I told Brecken I had a plan, but he said he couldn’t wait long. I didn’t want him to do anything rash, so I ran out and did a job for Rais to get the two crates he originally promised. I have to go back, do a couple extra jobs for the rest. He doesn’t take IOU’s very well.” 

Jade stared at her for a bit longer than she liked, but she eventually let out a sigh. “You don’t have to do this alone.”

Natalia was all too aware that Rais preferred to see Jade fight, but she wasn’t going to just hand her over on a silver platter. “No, Brecken needs you here. You’re the best runner we’ve got, and I think that puts him a little more at ease. Plus, if neither of us are here, who’s going to talk him out of something stupid?” 

She actually cracked a smile, though it didn’t last long. “Don’t get yourself in too deep. We can help.”

 _Yea, if only._ Natalia flashed a quick smile in return, letting it drop as Jade got up and left. Letting her shoulders sag, she leaned forward to stretch her back, swung her legs over the edge of the bed and got up to get ready. It was going to be a long day. 

After dressing and gearing up she stopped by the clinic to see Dave, but his cot was empty and Lena was out. Natalia walked in to peek around the corner, checking to see if maybe he moved to another bed, but they were empty as well. 

“Looking for someone?”

She whirled around to see Dave behind her, smile beaming as he went to give her a hug. “What are you doing up?! How are you feeling?” She was careful to hug around his waist so as not to hurt his bitten shoulder, but remembered the beating he also took and loosened her grip. 

“I needed some fresh air. Bed rest isn’t for me.” He pulled away, and that’s when she noticed he was dressed for a run.

“So, uh, plans for the day?”

“Obviously. We need all hands on deck, and someone to keep you out of trouble.”

She raised a brow. “Dave, you’ve had barely two days’ rest.”

He shrugged, but he still looked a little stiff. “Like I said, bed rest isn’t for me.”

Shit. What was she supposed to tell him? “Well I’ve, uh, actually been given another task for today.” It was his turn to look confused, but Natalia couldn’t give him a chance to ask questions, so she gave him another swift hug before skirting around him to the elevator. “I actually should get a head start now, but we’ll talk more tonight!” She was thankful for the quick elevator doors, leaning back on the wall when they closed. Brecken was right, Dave was absolutely going to kill her the second he finds out she’s doing shit for Rais, so she needed to be far away when he did.

The trip back to The Garrison was mostly uneventful, as usual, save for a couple of handsy biters that she quickly got rid of. She still wasn’t sure what she was going to tell Rais, hoping the walk would press her towards a decision, but she was no closer to one than she was last night. Taking a deep breath as she approached the large building, she climbed onto the blue van in front with her hands up. The guards recognized her though, waving her in. As undecided as she was, Natalia wanted to get this meeting over with, wasting no time getting over the gate and into the hallway. She rapped the sliding metal door at the end with the side of her fist and was greeted immediately by a black-and-yellow masked guy with a mohawk. Her chest tightened as she walked into the courtyard, the door sliding shut loudly behind her; it seemed the whole Garrison had been eagerly awaiting her return. 

Rais was halfway perched on a stack of crates, Tahir standing arms-crossed beside him, and a dozen or so masked men arched around the open-end of the yard, even more of them scattered on the balconies. Coming to the realization of how much shit she was in, she quietly let out a shaky breath.

“Ah! Our Tower lackey returns,” Rais exclaims with open arms, standing to approach her now. His mood swings were whip-lash worthy.

Natalia stood her ground, eyeing all the other men surrounding them. “Hope I’m not interrupting something.”

“Not at all. In fact, we’ve been waiting for you.” Exactly what she was afraid of. “But, we couldn’t help but notice you’ve come alone.”

“Observant.”

“So that must mean you wish to be our new champion of the Pit?”

She very much doubted the title of champion was even a thing, and she didn’t like the way the guys were growing restless around her. She wasn’t sure if their presence was supposed to be intimidating, but she hated to admit it was working. “What about running more jobs for you?”

Some of the guys groaned, and Rais shook his head in mock disappointment. “My men can do the jobs. What they’re lacking is… _entertainment._ You’re telling me you don’t want to entertain these fine men?”

That earned a couple whistles and some howls, but Natalia ignored them, focusing on Rais who was taking slow steps to circle around her. She also noticed too late that Tahir had half-circled the other way, now standing with his back against the sliding metal door. That was the first time she looked at him since arriving and she wasn’t sure what else she expected other than his somewhat permanent scowl. Her gaze went back to Rais. “If I’m supposed to _entertain_ them, then who am I fighting?”

He smirked, realizing he was going to get exactly what he wanted. “The ones who enjoy fighting.”

Great, that had to include Tahir, the sick fuck. She’s been wanting to kick his ass anyway. “Good, I’ll take a piece of jackass.” She pointed her thumb over her shoulder at him, realizing a little late she could have picked a better phrase to egg him on

“Just a piece? I’d give you the whole thing,” he taunted, and she hated the way her spine tingled down to her sides. 

Rais only laughed at her obliviousness, but he wasn’t about to enlighten her. “Excellent, then we have our fighter!” The men cheered a little too loud, unnerving her even more while Tahir stared her down. “There is a construction site south east of here. Be there tonight before sundown.”

Wait. “Wha- tonight?” Natalia stammered on her words. “I don’t get a day to prepare, or-or-”

“You get the rest of the day. Use your time wisely,” he cautioned, and with that Rais disappeared into the Garrison, some of the men following, others retreating from the balconies. 

Tahir remained leaned against the door even as she turned and approached to leave. “You don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Kick your ass for Antizin? I’d do that all-day long.” Ok, she needed to stop, or he was going to knock her head right off her shoulders. 

“Unfortunately, it’s not me you’ll be fighting,” he warned low, his amusement from earlier gone. 

That surprisingly didn’t make her feel any better, but he finally stepped to the side so she could let herself out. She left the Garrison feeling more than a little confused and insanely overwhelmed. What the hell did she just get herself into, and _why the hell_ did she let that stupid intimidation thing work. She knew better, at least she thought so. Her thoughts went to what Dave said to her earlier, ‘someone to keep you out of trouble’. Yea, she needed that. She also wondered offhandedly if she needed to be the one to tell him about Rais instead of letting him find out from Brecken. Though she told him she wouldn’t be back until tonight Natalia started making her way back to the Tower when the cargo plane came into sight. 

It was a little early for the afternoon drop, but she stood on her current rooftop just watching it; the damn thing that was supposed to help them yet caused so much headache. The first crate dropped and the plane began to bank over her, getting some ways out before dropping the second crate. When the first chute opened she watched it fall slowly towards her, in shock and awe at how close it was, but as it continued its descent she noticed it was coming even closer. Quickly jumping a couple of rooftops over, the crates roughly landed on the small patio on the second floor of her building. She jumped down to pry the crate open, revealing three Antizin boxes nestled between two medical supply boxes. She wasn’t prepared for this emotional rollercoaster today. Thankful for always having her pack on her, she quickly slid it off her shoulders along with her track jacket to use as padding, and began unloading the individual vials from each of the three boxes. Returning the boxes to the crate, she closed it and latched it back up to the best of her ability, then took off towards the Tower. Hopefully if Rais men were close behind they’d be distracted by the seemingly unopened crate. 

**********

“I don’t know what you’re doing, but whatever it is you’re doing it right,” Lena praised as she handed back the empty pack after storing away the vials.

“This one was just dumb luck.” But Natalia couldn’t wipe away her stupid grin. This was the pick-me-up she needed. 

Catching up with some of the runners on the way to headquarters, she couldn’t help but laugh hearing about Rais’ thugs looking confused and pissed off at an empty Antizin crate. 

“Was that you?”

Aaaaand her heart was in her stomach again. Natalia turned to see Dave mirroring the beaming grin she had just seconds prior. “Yea! The crate practically landed at my feet.”

“Pretty risky being over there, that was basically in the Garrisons front yard,” Dave offered warily, and she could see the wheels in his head turning. Might as well get this over with.

Natalia stopped just outside the headquarters, waiting until everyone except Dave disappeared inside. “I know, that’s where I came from.”

He was shocked to say the least, his mouth agape before words finally fell out. “And what were you doing over there…?”

She huffed. “Attempting to make a deal for Antizin, but Rais is a hard one to bargain with. I was just coming to tell Bracken and Jade his, uh, condition.”

“That’s why you don’t try to bargain with a man like Rais! Jesus Christ I’m out for two days and you go completely off the rails-”

“I was doing it for you! You got bitten Dave and we needed you better!” She was trying and failing at controlling the volume of her voice. “You’d probably still be in that damn bed if I hadn’t gone, Lena said it took you four doses to finally suppress the seizures so you could even get out of bed!”

He was quiet for a moment, finally shaking his head and walking into headquarters to join the rest of the group. She knew he needed some time, but she did too. That was a little more overwhelming that she expected. 

Natalia waited outside for them to finish their meeting, skirting in the door behind the last of them before Dave could grill her further. She closed the door behind her with an exasperated sigh, turning around to face Brecken’s gaze. 

“I take it you told him.”

“What gave it away?” she went to the side of the table and plopped into one of the chairs. “I figured it had to be me, or he’d be mad about that too.”

“He’ll deal with it, just like I have to.” She gave him a confused look. “What, you think I’m ok just sending you off to Rais’ beck and call?”

“About that…”

He sat down across from her. “What does he want?”

“He wanted Jade to fight in his Pit-”

“Absolutely fucking not.”

“-so, I said I would.”

“Absolutely _fucking_ not!” It was a little scary how red his face turned in that split second.

Natalia rubbed her eyes, not really feeling up to arguing all day long; not when she was supposed to be using the time she had to prepare for whatever the hell it was. “Look, I’ll do it this time, win the Antizin, and if it’s too risky to attempt again then we’ll figure something else out. I like the way that cabinet looks right now and I want to keep it that way.”

“But isn’t it enough for now? Christ, you just came back with three cases.”

“And we have about twenty-five people infected around here, how long do you really think those will last us?”

“Long enough for us to snag a couple more drops! Nat, we’re all worried about running out, but we’ve never gone completely dry.”

But that’s all she’s ever been worried about; what would they do if they ever did? “Brecken, you haven’t seen how much Rais has stashed away, and he doesn’t even need it! So, what if while they’re all worried about whatever I’m running around doing for them, our guys have a better chance at getting to the drops faster and getting the hell away?” Like their own little diversion. 

Brecken knew she was right, but he didn’t like the measures she was taking. However, he knew there was no sense in arguing with her because he didn’t really have a backup plan himself. “Alright, fine, but if-”

“-you get in too deep, get outa there like a bat outa hell.” Everyone was turning into a parental figure today.

He was quiet for a second. “I’m just worried about you getting away ‘this time’.”

She only shrugged; there wasn’t much else left to say that she hasn’t already

After talking with Brecken, she walked out of headquarters expecting Dave to be waiting for her, but he was nowhere around. Deciding to see if Spike had anything new that might help her out for tonight, Natalia walked away with a new military machete, a kickass highlander hatchet, and more throwing knives to replace the ones she dropped and then some. With the evening sun making its descent she began making her way in the general direction of the construction site.

The large yellow and black banners clinging to the partially constructed towers let her know she was in the right place, along with the blockade of spike-covered cars and busses. Two of the guards standing watch let her up and led her inside, just as the first volatile scream sounded in the distance. Even if she had to make a getaway, it wasn’t going to be easy. Passing through unfinished and unoccupied hallways left her with an eerie feeling, but soon they left the first building out of what must have been the parking garage and walked further into the construction site, coming up to some closed hangar doors at the bottom of a ramp. They walked her down the ramp and stopped just shy of the doors.

“Weapons,” the one demanded, the other staring her down.

“Excuse you?”

“Give us your shit,” the other piped up. “You go in bare and use what you can find. You’ll get it all back if you live.”

Oh, she didn’t like this at all. With a groan, she reluctantly unhooked her machete belt with all her shiny new toys. When she gave up all she had they nodded towards the doors.

“Not even gonna get the door?” she mumbled as she grabbed a handle and heaved, not expecting it to be as heavy as it was.

When it was open just wide enough, she slipped inside. Taking one look out into the area, she could see why it was called the Pit. Surrounded on all sides, scaffolding lined the walls holding a bunch cheering and yelling men. The hangar door shut heavily behind her, and she knew she heard them looping chains through the handles. Great. Natalia took a few steps forward, staring up at the crowd around her.

“Our champion has arrived!”

She was already extremely pissed about her stuff, so his little ‘announcement’ only made her blood boil. The crowd yelled even louder, and Natalia lazily turned to face the booming voice behind her.

Rais was leaning on the railing of a hanging platform above the hanger doors she just walked through, complete with a shit-eating grin. Of course, Tahir and two other guards accompanied him. “We were afraid you’d gotten cold feet.”

Natalia gave a dramatic bow. “Forgive me.”

He chuckled, and the lift he was on lowered until it was about four feet off the ground. The front hatch dropped forward, and Tahir jumped off first followed by the other two guards. 

_Well, getting right to it then._ Though she had to admit she wasn’t thrilled with the odds. As the men approached however, they started to branch off around her, and Rais’ voice grabbed her attention. 

“I think you may have had the wrong impression of our little arena.” She listened, but kept peeking over her shoulder, seeing each of the three men going to a cargo container scattered on the inside of the Pit. “Unfortunately, I can’t have you hurting my men. It takes five of them to complete a simple task, so I need as many of them able bodied as possible.” He sounded irritated more than anything, and she could tell his men probably meant little to him. The guys finished their business with the containers and returned to the lift, Tahir showing the faintest hint of a smirk over his shoulder as he climbed up last. “So, I present another opponent for you. One you should be more familiar with.” 

She hadn’t noticed the remote Rais had been holding, but several compact explosions went off in unison behind her, causing her to whip around. The doors had been blown off the containers, and dozens of infected came pouring out. The two closest to her only held the stumbling biters, but the one in the back was full of virals that came charging at her immediately. 

_Fuck me._

Natalia went running for the first container, picking up a rusty pipe on the way and jumping for the top. She heaved herself up easily, and some of the pushier biters shoved the closer ones into the spikes attached to the side, but that held little victory as two virals jumped up towards her at the same time. She kicked one back, though it didn’t seem to disturb it in the least, and swung the pipe back into the others skull, sending it tumbling off the crate only to shake the hit off and try again. She stomped its skull in when it was halfway up, but the other made a grab for her and more were climbing up, so she had to bail, landing in a roll by one of the fire barrels. 

She dodged past more of the biters and onto the next container, spotting a gas tank. Looking back to the barrel she just ran by and the swarm of biters around it, she quickly bashed the nozzle of the tank, hearing the tell-tale whizzing sound and throwing it right into the barrel. Natalia dropped off the other side of the container just as a loud explosion sounded, earning loud ‘oohhh’s from the crowd. She’d forgotten about them for a second, chancing a look up as a viral came around the corner and barreled into her, arms flailing and teeth chomping. It knocked her back and was on top of her, threatening to bite the arm that was grabbing for its jaw. In one quick motion though she snapped its neck, its body going limp over her. She heard another viral jump onto the cargo crate, so she quickly got out from under the body and took off, assessing herself as she ran to make sure she didn’t actually get bitten. 

Breathing a little easier knowing she wasn’t, Natalia pulled herself up onto the third crate where there was another gas tank and some firecrackers. She was somewhat near another fire barrel, but the remaining biters have scattered a bit. She threw a couple firecrackers near the barrel, luckily it drew the attention of the other virals as well, and waited for them to group up. She didn’t expect one of the last virals to climb up the container behind her, but it grabbed a hold of her ankle and pulled her down, trying to get its mouth near her leg. She went down with a yelp, rolling onto her back and kicking at the thing frantically until it finally let go. All she kept thinking was she was going to get bit and it scared her to no end, so when the thing came clambering up for round two she made sure to kick its head in, the limp body falling back to the ground for the last time. 

Letting out the breath she’d been holding, Natalia stood again to grab the gas tank. The biters were still close enough to the fire but the rest of the virals were running around like mad trying to find her, so she threw the last of the firecrackers near the barrel. They grouped up as close as she thought manageable, so she smashed the tank, shouldered it and threw it as hard as she could, but the damned thing hit the rim and fell to the side. 

She couldn’t help the scream that left her throat, and without thinking she jumped down and ran for the tank. The entire Pit seemed to go silent along with the groaning of the biters and the screams of the virals. Natalia ran straight for the tank, only one or two biters staggering in her way, the rest grabbed at her and threatened to tear her apart. She threw her arms in front of her like a blockade, and ran full force into the first biter, causing it to fly backwards into the next, and then another behind it. She was able to get her hands on the tank, lift it and drop it into the fire. It only took a second for it to settle on the coals at the bottom, but Natalia kept running through the bodies, and when the tank exploded the shock wave sent her flying forward into the ground.

Her head was ringing, her sight was blurry, and she knew there had to be pieces of metal or something lodged into the back of her right shoulder and leg. The air that was knocked out of her all came rushing back, causing her to cough and sputter as she got onto her hands and knees enough to turn around. The explosion had gotten every last one of the infected, save for one biter crawling on the ground towards her. She grabbed a piece of rebar next to her and jammed it into its skull, ripping it out and continually stabbing until it stopped moving. With an exhausted sigh she rolled over to the side, sat up on her ass and finally looked up to the lift. 

Rais was actually clapping, that smug grin still on his face. “What an exceptional performance.”

“Blow it out your ass, Rais,” she groaned, gingerly pushing herself to stand. 

“Though I have to say,” he continued, ignoring her, “I expected nothing less from the mysterious white-haired woman I’ve heard so much about.”

She refrained from touching her hair, currently falling out of the bun on top of her head. _Shit._ So, he did know who she was. 

“What? You didn’t think I would find out when someone had been suddenly getting to the drops before my men? Or the lone girl who’s been trying to take on two and three of my guys for Antizin? I’ve had to send them out with backup because of you, you know.”

She supposed she should feel proud for that, but that’s probably why she was in this mess.

“I was a little disappointed when they couldn’t bring you in sooner, but then you just came waltzing through the front door, and now here you are.”

Natalia was a little thankful he hadn’t just outright killed her once he knew who she was, but she knew there was nothing good left in store for her. She just kept her fingers crossed, hoping this was supposed to be some kind of warning. 

“Though I wanted to have you taken care of and out of the way,” he paused, leaning on the railing of the lift, “I’m going to let you decide your fate in this final round.”

The final… “What?!” 

A machete landed under the lift, sticking handle-up out of the ground. “Don’t say I never gave you anything, girl.”

“Uh, no,” she hobbled forward towards the lift, “I killed all your infected, I won. Now I want my shit, and the Antizin you promised.”

“Can’t have you skipping out on the main event. I even got a special gift, just for you.” Natalia didn’t notice the crane moving another freight container overhead. 

“How bout you take that gift and shove it up your ass!”

Rais lost his calm façade, his demeanor going sinister, but before he could say anything further the suspended cargo container began to sway violently, the one end breaking free from the cables. The other end soon followed, and the crate came crashing down to her right. Wincing as she covered her face from the debris and dust, Natalia quickly recovered and looked to the container, spray-painted to resemble a present. Rais really must’ve thought he was funny. She looked back up to him on the lift and started to hobble her way to the hangar doors when a roar echoed in the metal container. She looked over her shoulder in time to see the doors being punched out from the inside before suddenly flying off, a hulking infected shoulder-charging through them and right for her.

What the hell was that thing?! Natalia jumped out of the way at the last second, landing with a pained groan. It turned and roared at her, and she saw Rais on the lift above it, a sinister smile on his lips. 

This wasn't going to end well for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted a little later than I wanted too, but I've been so swamped with finals prep. This is a bit of a filler chapter but I have plans for the next. Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
